Heaton



(No Model.) 2 SheetS Sheet 1. J. S. HEATON.

GATE. No. 366,832. Patented July 19, 1887.

S SSW "I" -.----,q 1=--% WITNESSES: INVENTIOR: M }J% $65M BY M g ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN S. HEATON, OF SHELBYVILLE, KENTUCKY.

GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 366,832, dated July 19, 1887.

Application filed January 15, 1887.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN S. IIEATON, of Shelbyvillc,in the county of Shelby and State of Kentucky, have invented a new and improved Gate, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to gates of that class adapted to be opened and closed by the opera tion of levers within reach of persons walking or on horseback or in vehicles, and has for its object to provide a simple, comparatively inexpensive, and durable gate of this eharac' -tcr which may be operated very easily and will be latched automatically in both open and closed positions.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts of the gate, all as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of'reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved gate as closed and with the overhead beam and one of the operating-levers in crosssection. Fig. 2 is a detail plan view, partly in section, of the inner end of the gate and its hinge and direct lever-connections, drawn to a larger scale. Fig. 3 is a face view of the gate and its operating-levers, partly broken away, and shows the gate opened along the roadway and latched to a post, the lower toggle-levers of the gate being in cross-section on the line (v m, Fig. 1; and Fig. etis a vertical sectional elevation taken on the line 9 y, Fig. 3, and drawn to a larger scale.

The hinge-post A of the gate, its latchpost B, and a post, 0, to which a few of the gatelevers are fulcruined, are all set in line with a fence, and the opening between the posts A B is the gateway, which the gate proper, I), is adapted to close.

The gate 1) may have any approved construction, it being shown as made of rails 1, connected to end uprights, 2 3, and having a vertically-ranging bar, 4, and diagonallyranging braces 5 secured to its outer face. Hinges d (I connect the gate D to the hingepost A, and the outer end of the gate closes against a stop-piece, I), fixed to the post B, and to this post a suitable catclrplate, E, is fixed Serial No. 224,440. (No model.)

in position to be engaged by a springpressed latch, which preferably comprises an elastic rod, F, fixed at one end to the gate-upright 3 and held to the gate at its upper end by a keeper, f, and provided with a lateral projection, j, which springs into or behind the catch-plate as the gate closes.

A rod, G, connected to the gate-latch F, is fitted to slide in keepers g g, fixed to one of the gate-rails, and at its back end is bent out ward a little, and is connected at its extremity bya link, H, with an eye at the end of a strapiron or shackle, I, which is fixed to the outer end of the part j of a compound or two-part lever, J, comprising said part j and a part, j,

connected by eycboltsj j at a point about opposite the hinge-post A of the gate. The outer end of the part j of the lever J is fulcrumed at 9' to the post 0.

The lever shackle or strap I is slotted att' near its outer end to receive the flattened end or head k of a short shaft or pin, K, which is journaled in one of the gaterails 1 and in the gatebar 4, where the rail and bar cross each other, thus giving the shaft a substantial bearing in the gate, and washers It" may be used at each face of the gate. A pin passed through the outer end of the shaft K holds it to the gate.

The shackle I is slotted at t" transversely to its slot 1', and a pin, L, passed through said slot i and through the head It of the shaft K, connects the parts K L in a manner allowing movement of the lever J, orits part lengthwise of the gate or endwise of the rod G, which connects the lever to the gate-latch, and at the same time allows partial rotation of the shaft Kin the gate D, as the two-part lever J' is flexed or bent upward at its joint j by the action of levers, as presently explained.

A lever, M, pivoted to the lever .T at m, is pivoted also by a pin, m, to the lower end of a forked bar, N, which is connected by pivotpins a a, passed through the upper ends of its twolimbspz nflrespectivcly, with the inner ends or short arms of two levers, O 1, respectively. which are fulcrumed at 0 p to an overhead beam, R, which ranges along one side of the roadway approaching the gate, and is fixed to the gate hingepost A and to a post, S, set at some little distance from the post A. The long arm of the lever P is connected by a link,

T, with one end of a lever, U, which is fulcrumed at u to the beam R and extends along the roadway a sufficient distance to allow a person walking or in a vehicle or on horseback to pull on the lever or on a rod or rope, u, connected to its end, to'close the gate. The

lever O is or may be provided with a pull-rod bolt, m, which connects the parts M N also connects one end of a lever, -M", to the lever M, the other end of said lever M being pivoted at in to the post 0. This lever M serves as a tie-bar or brace to the parts M N; but its use is optional.

To the lever U is pivoted one end of a rod, V, the other end of which is pivoted to a short arm or lever, WV, which is pivoted at w to the post S, or to lugs thereon, and has fixed to it one end of an elastic rod, X, the other end of Y which enters a staple or eye, w, fixed to a latch, Y, which is pivoted to a block fixed to the post S, and is adapted by its hook, head, or end 3 to drop behind the open gate D when it swings against a bar or stop-piece, s, fixed to the post S A stop-pin, y, limits the fall of the latch.

The operation of the gate is as follows: We will suppose the gate is closed on the line of the fence and latched to the post B, as in Fig.

, 1 of the drawings, and a person approaches the gate from inside the fence or the side next the lever O to open the gate. All that is necessary is to pull .down the outer end of the lever 0, which will at once lift thebarN to flex the lever J at its j ointfi, and cause the shackle or strap I to slip on the pin L and draw on the rod G to pull back the latch F to free the gate from the post B, and the continued motion of the lever 0 will cause the gate to swing open to the post S, the pin K turning in the gate D to allow the partj of the lever J to rise at its jointed end, and at the same time turn on the eyebolts j as it swings outward with the gate to the position shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. As the gate-lever I is pulled, as above described, the lever U will be raised at its outer end, which will lower the arm IN and throw the latch Y downward by depressing the inner end of the elastic rod X, which engages the latch, and as the gate nearly reaches the post S it will strike .the latch, which will yield and allow the gate to pass it, whereupon the latch-head y will be forced down by the rod X to latch the gate to the post S. After the person has passed the gateway, the gate may be closed by simply pulling down the outer endof the lever U, which first lifts the latch Y to free the gate, and by the action of the lever P lowers the bar N to straighten the w lever J and swing the gate to the post B, where it will latch automatically with the catchplate E. Meanwhile the lever 0 will be raised at its outer end,ready to be again pulled down the next time the gate is to be opened. As the gate closes to the post B and the lever J straightens out, the adjacent ends of its parts jj at itsjoint j will abut like a rule-joint to form a lock, and the lever also lodges on the upright m, where it is supported against downward pressure, which otherwise would rack or overstrain its joint and the connections of the lever with the gate D.

It requires but little forceapplied at the levers to operate the gate, and it is obvious that the lever J and its connections with the gate K L will operate equally well with other systems of levers or gate-latch devices. Furthermore, there are no springs, pulleys, wires, orother delicatedevices used in the gate; hence it is not liable to get quickly out of order,and the gate D may be opened or closed even should it sag at the outer end, provided it does not drag on the ground.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- i 1. A gate comprising the threealigned posts C A B, the gate D, hinged to the post A, the horizontal two-part lever J, pivoted at its rear end to the post 0 to swing vertically, the short forward section, j, being connected with the rear section, j, by a universal joint to swing vertically and horizontally, and a universal joint connectingthe forward section with the outer face of the gate at its rear end, the lever M, pivoted near the rear end of the lever J, a

guide at the lower end of the post A for the forward end of said lever M, thelever M,piv oted at its rear end to the post 0, and the vertical operating-lever N, pivotally connected with the levers M N, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the gate having the latch-rod G andthe horizontal rotary pin K near the rear end of the gate, of the horizontal vertically-swinging two-part lever J, having a horizontal slot, *5, near its outer end, to receive the end of the pin K, and a vertical longitudinal slot, i, the pin or pivot L,passed 'down through the slot t" and the end of the pin K, the link or connection H, connecting the section j of lever J at. its front end with 4 the rear end of the latch-rod G, and means for operating the lever J ,substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with a gate, D, hinged to apost, A, and a two-part lever, J, fulerumed to a support, 0, and attached to the gate by swivel-connections K L, substantially as specified, of a lever, M, bar N, and lever O, and a guide. at the lower end of the post A for the inner end of lever M, substantially as shown and described.

4. The combination, with a gate, D, hinged to a post, A, a two-part lever, J, fulerumed to a support, 0, and attached to the gate by swivelconnections K L, and a lifting-bar, N,

connected to the lever J, substantially as specified, of an overhead beam, R, a lever, O, fulcrumed thereto and pivoted to the bar N, a lever, 1 fulerumed to beam R and pivoted to bar N, and a lever, U, fulcrumed. to beam R and connected to the lever P, substantially as shown and described, whereby the gate may be opened and closed by operating the levers O U, as herein set forth.

5. The combination, with a gate, D, hinged to a post, A, a two-part lever, J, fulcrumed to a support, 0, and attached to the gate by swivel-connections K L, and a lifting-bar, N, connected to the lever J, of a post, S, a latch, Y, thereon adapted to engage the opened gate, an overhead beam, R, fixed to posts A S, levers O P U, fnlcrumed to the beam R, and said levers O P pivoted to the bar N, an arm, \V, pivoted to post S, a link, V, connecting the parts U V, and an elastic rod, X, eonnected to the arm 7 and engaging the latch Y, substantially as described, for the purposes set forth.

6. In a gate, the combination ofalatch-bar, Y, pivoted to a post, S, an arm, XV, pivoted to said post, an elastic rod, X, fixed to arm XV and engaging the latch, a gateoperating lever, U, and a link, V, connecting the parts U W, substantially as described, for the purposes set forth.

7. A gate constructed substantially as herein shown and described, and comprising a gate proper, D, hinged to a post, A, a two-part lever, J, fulcrnmcd to a support, 0, and attached to the gate by swivel-connections K L, and said lever having slots 2' i, receiving the pins K L, respectively,apost, B, aeatch, E, thereon, a latch, ,F, on the gate, a rod, G, connected to latch F and lever J, a lifting-bar, N, a lever, M, connecting the parts J N, a post, S, an overhead beam, R, levers O P U, fulcruined thereto, and said levers O P pivoted to the bar N, an arm, XV, pivoted to post S, a link, V, connecting the parts U XV, and an elastic rod, X, connected to arm V and engaging the latch Y, all arranged for operation as and for the purposes herein set forth.

JOHN S. HEATON.

\Vitnesses:

Tnnononn R. BOWLAND, JOHN M. CASEY. 

